40 Questions about Salvation

This newest contribution to the 40 Questions series continues the tradition of excellent research presented in clear, user-friendly writing. 40 Questions About Salvation makes sense of one of Christianity’s most disputed doctrines, covering the most common and difficult questions about election, the order of salvation, and perseverance of the saints.

This volume will help pastors, college and seminary students, and all Christians who want to grow in their understanding of what the Bible teaches about salvation. Each chapter is succinct and readable, with a bibliography of additional resources for those who wish to study further.

Table of Contents

Preface: How to Read This Book

Part 1: Sin and the Need for Salvation

What Is Sin?

Do We Inherit the Guilt and Corruption of Adam’s Sin? (Part 1)

Do We Inherit the Guilt and Corruption of Adam’s Sin? (Part 2)

Are We Totally Depraved?

Do We Need God’s Grace to Be Freed from Sin?

Part 2: Salvation and Union with Christ

What Is Meant by Salvation?

What Is the Order of Salvation?

What Does It Mean to Be United with Christ? (Part 1)

What Does It Mean to Be United with Christ? (Part 2)

Part 3: Election, Calling and New Birth

Is God’s Electing Choice Conditioned upon Us? (Part 1)

Is God’s Electing Choice Conditioned upon Us? (Part 2)

What Is the Difference Between the Gospel Call and the Effectual Call?

Does God’s Call Ever Fail? (Part 1)

Does God’s Call Ever Fail? (Part 2)

What Does It Mean to Be Born Again?

Is the New Birth Something We Bring About? (Part 1)

Is the New Birth Something We Bring About? (Part 2)

Does God Coerce Our Free Will?

Part 4: Conversion, Justification and Adoption

What Is Saving Faith?

What Is True Repentance?

Are Faith and Repentance Gifts of God’s Grace?

Is Justification a Legal Declaration or a Moral Transformation?

What Is the Great Exchange?

Is the Righteousness of Christ Imputed to Believers? (Part 1)

Is the Righteousness of Christ Imputed to Believers? (Part 2)

Is Justification by God’s Grace Alone Through Faith Alone?

What Does It Mean to Be Adopted as Children of God?

Part 5: Sanctification, Perseverance and Glorification

What Is the Difference Between Definitive and Progressive Sanctification?

What Is the Difference Between Justification and Sanctification?

Who Is the Author of Sanctification?

How Do We Die to Sin?

How Do We Grow in Likeness to Christ?

Will We Ever Reach Perfection in This Lifetime?

Can We Lose Our Salvation? (Part 1)

Can We Lose Our Salvation? (Part 2)

Is Perseverance in the Faith Necessary? (Part 1)

Is Perseverance in the Faith Necessary? (Part 2)

What Role Do Warning Passages Play in Our Perseverance? (Part 1)

What Role Do Warning Passages Play in Our Perseverance? (Part 2)

What Will Glorification Be Like?

Select Bibliography

Praise for 40 Questions About Salvation

“Matthew Barrett is one of the brightest young theologians on the scene today, and he is amazingly productive. His newest work on salvation is simply superb. Barrett marches through various topics on salvation, and even though the book is brief, the answers are thorough, rooted in scripture, informed by church history, and most important faithful to the faith once for all delivered to the saints. I should also add that the answers are remarkably clear and lucid, and it is hard to imagine a better primer for students to become acquainted with the doctrine of salvation in scripture.”

“When the Philippian Jailer asked Paul and Silas “What must I do be saved?” he uttered humanity’s most important question. The answer to that question requires on the one hand only childlike understanding, but on the other hand can surpass the depths of human comprehension. Indeed, when one examines all that God has revealed in the Bible regarding salvation, many other questions arise and, yet, all reveal the marvelous kindness and glorious complexity of God. Thus, it is an exercise of worship to seek to ask and answer those questions, and therefore it is my joy to commend such an exploration in Matthew Barrett’s 40 Questions About Salvation. This book will strengthen your faith and help you to grow in your understanding and admiration of the God who saves.”

“The doctrine of salvation strikes a personal chord in the hearts of God’s people, even though many Christians struggle to comprehend its deeper dimensions. In view of this challenge, Matthew Barrett has rendered the church a great service. An extraordinary teacher with a knack for clarifying complexity, Barrett explores forty of the most crucial questions of salvation, providing answers that inform the mind and animate the heart.”

—Chris Castaldo, PhD., Lead Pastor of New Covenant Church, Naperville, and author of Talking with Catholics about the Gospel.

“Dr. Barrett impressively combines historical, systematic, and biblical theology in a winsome presentation of the Reformed view of Salvation. I especially appreciated Dr. Barrett’s grounding of all doctrines in Scripture. My RTS students and alumni should buy this book.”

“Matthew Barret provides readers with a clear and accessible explanation of salvation that spans from predestination to glorification. Anyone from the beginner to the advanced student can profit from Barrett’s insightful treatment. But more than an academic survey, Barrett assists readers in knowing, and thus worshipping, the God of our amazing redemption.”

“Barrett accessibly and faithfully presents what the whole Bible teaches about salvation.”

—Andy Naselli, associate professor of New Testament and theology at Bethlehem College & Seminary in Minneapolis and an elder of Bethlehem Baptist Church

“Matthew Barrett has done a great service to the church with 40 Questions About Salvation. As a pastor, I am always looking for solid and accessible books dealing with the basics of Christian theology from a biblical and Reformed perspective. This is a book I will heartily recommend to anyone asking questions about the doctrines associated with our salvation from the guilt and the power of sin. Questions for reflection are included, which makes this book suitable to personal and small group study.”

“Matthew Barrett’s grasp of the various dimensions of soteriology is firm and well-informed, and his presentation of the doctrine here is clear and crisp. This will doubtless prove to be a helpful guide and a trusted resource for many. I will certainly want to put this to good use in my own courses and will recommend it heartily.”